I would say since we only have to fall 12 spots to be the worst offense in the country, anything would be a improvement.
It's not a coach's fault that his sophomore QB has not developed faster than all the other sophomore QB's....
if this was true we would have about 5 of the stupidest QB's in the country on one team and the coach playing the best of the 5 because thats the one he thinks is the best of the bunch, JJ might be the smartest of the bunch since they play him as the number #1 QB. I dont agree with that at all.
It isn't always the coaches fault. But considering how confused so many players seemed this year, I tend to think it is this coaches fault.
Well to me the coaches must think JJ is the best of the bunch for him to be the number one QB, Now one thing that you point out is that he is a sophomore and will make mistakes and does need to improve in area's but its the coaches job to coach him in those area's that he need to improve in, if he hasn't shown improvement through the year in certain area's and it was his fault I would think the coaches would see this and choose another QB instead of one not improving, its the coaches that put the best on the field in any position and if he wasn't the best of the bunch he wouldn't be in there. The play scheme they play and the way the O-line has done I can't believe they don't do more quick slants so he can dump the ball off fast, but most of the time they are going long and he doesn't have the time to deliver the ball. I just dont believe it's the kids fault, its the Coaching, play scheme, and play calling that has made this team be one of the worst Offenses in the country, not the QB or the coaches would bench him for another.
Correct. I'm paraphrasing, but when he came onboard, he said something to the effect of it being a smoother transition if he were to learn the current offense and integrate his here and there, rather then the players having to learn an entire new offense.
Exactly where is it that you think Jefferson should be in his development? There isn't anything wrong with Jefferson's play. He's accurate (60%+ is the widely accepted benchmark), he has an above average arm and he's beginning to see the entire field. He's exactly where a collegiate QB is expected to be around 15 games into his career. His numbers are actually pretty comparable with Mauck's and Russell's (Jefferson has a better TD:Int ration I think) and better than Flynn's and Randall's. Flynn was sacked 26 times his only year of starting and threw 11 interceptions; he was a Senior! Of course many LSU fans felt that those QBs were any good when they played for LSU either. (I think that's probably more condemning for LSU fans than the QBs.) Jefferson's not a QB that turns the ball over very much, which is actually quite rare for a guy his age. I think that's probably because the coaches are really pushing him to make a smart choice with throwing the ball or eat it for the sack and live to fight another day. Any argument that he hasn't improved over he course of the season is being made by someone who didn't watch the last two games of the year. This is a sign that not only is he being coached, but he's accepting the coaching and learning from mistakes. Your expectations and the expectations of most LSU fans for Jefferson are completely unrealistic. The problem isn't with Crowton or Jefferson; it's with you and people who feel the way you do.
I think JJ did pretty good, but there are plenty of things he should have been doing better as the year progressed. Seeing JJ's play as perfect or horrible is a silly extreme. I don't expect a team that recruits in the Top 5 every year to be near the bottom of the SEC or the entire nation in Offense. It's not unrealistic. It's unacceptable.
I'm not talking "the offense". I'm talking the QB. However, when you consider that some members of those recruiting classes that made them so highly rated and would be contributing to a better offense are no longer on the team, yeah I think it's unrealistic to expect that they're better than what they are right now. This offense is far from explosive, but they don't put themselves in a hole either and there is a lot to be said for that. In fact, that in of itself is an improvement from last season. The offensive line has regressed after losing a couple pretty key blockers, which doomed the running game which put more pressure on our still developing QB, but I think that Jefferson has handled it pretty well. You also have to remember that when Jefferson was signed, it was widely accepted that he was a couple years away from being a quality QB because he was still pretty young and raw. I think that he has handled himself extremely well considering the circumstances. He has his moments when you're throwing stuff across the room while screaming "Throw the ****ing ball they're right on top of you!" but then he also has moments when he takes a three step drop, whips his arm over his head and fires the ball on a frozen rope to the receiver in stride. He's a sophomore. He's 19. He's still learning. He's still going to make mistakes. I'd much rather him hold the ball too long than throw an ill-advised pass. It was just a year ago we were screaming for our QB to take the sack instead of throwing the ill-advised pass. My how the tables have turned. Jefferson is going to be fine. LSU is going to be fine.
